"Stop Raping Us": Topless Woman's Protests Against Ukraine War At Cannes

A woman stripped off on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival 2022. This happened as the guests including Tilda Swinton and Ibris Elba were parading in evening wear for the premiere of the film Three Thousand Years of Longing, which is directed by George Miller. The incident took place on May 20.

It was a solo protest by the woman whose body was painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag with the world, "Stop Raping Us." Her underpants were stained in red colour as she demonstrated, shouted and posed for the photographers. She was then led off the carpett by security guards.

The Russia-Ukraine war has been a major theme at the international film festival, which is being attended by celebrities across the world. On Thursday, the festival also screened a documentary film by the Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, titled Mariupolis 2. Kvedaravicius was killed in Ukraine last month reportedly by the Russian forces.

Suggested Reading: Five Fearless Women Journalists Covering The Ukraine-Russia War

Cannes 2022 Protest

Even the festival, which began on Thursday was kickstarted by displaying a message by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who appealed to the international community to provide aid for his country during the opening ceremony. He has been sending this messages on all the platforms to connect with the international community.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian filmmakers will get a special day, where one of the prominent directors Sergei Loznitsa will show The Natural History of Destruction, which is about the bombing of the German cities during World War II.

Media reports from Ukraine have stated that Russian soldiers had allegedly raped women in the war-torn land. An investigation of these charges has also initiated on March 23. This happened after a woman submitted an official complaint to a Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun, who tweeted, "Prosecutor General of Ukraine opened the first official investigation of the raoe of a Ukrainian woman in Brovary district committed by the Russian soldier."

These investigations will be led by Iryna Venediktova, who is the prosecutor general of Ukraine. In her efforts to uncover the war crime, her office has already opened over 8,000 criminal investigations related to the war and identified over 500 suspects till now.

The act briefly disrupted the parade of guests dressed up for the premiere of Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba's film "Three Thousand Years of Longing," directed by George Miller. The festival has already made the war a significant focus, with a special showing of "Mariupolis 2," a documentary by Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravicius, who was assassinated in Ukraine last month — purportedly by Russian forces.

According to reports, Ukraine's struggling film industry will be honoured on Saturday, with one of the country's most promising directors, Sergei Loznitsa, presenting "The Natural History of Destruction," a documentary on the bombardment of German cities during WWII. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an emotional speech through a live satellite video address at the 75th Cannes Film Festival opening ceremony, calling on filmmakers to confront dictators.